Seeds ordered from a different country

I live in Canada and recently I ordered seed from a US site and they refunded my order because of two things:
1. They had never shipped to Canada before and were shocked at the cost of shipping that came in as higher than the cost of the seeds
2. They thought my seeds would get radiated at the US/Canada border.

I have ordered from other US seed companies before and had no problems with germination. However, I did not receive seeds from US seed companies since 2002 or so, until this year. Perhaps things have changed?

I ordered some seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds www.rareseeds.com in September/October and I now have to do some germination tests so I can let Mystic Prairie LLC know if they sprout or not, as it's the best test for if their seeds will sprout or not if they ship them to me.

ALSO - I ordered seeds from Europe (Hungary) via Etsy and just received them in the mail today. I will try to germinate a few of each of those as well. It's difficult when there are not many seeds to start with, yet important - I don't want to order from international seed sellers if I can't use the seeds!

Such lovely seeds from Hungary: - Black mulberry, Noni - Indian Mulberry, White Mulberry, Elderberry (Sambucus nigra), Besztercei Plum/Szilva, Egyptian Walking Onion, and the bonus seeds: Chia - Aztek Zsalya
And from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds: Daikon Radish, Baby bok choi, Chijimisai (Japanese Greens), Napa Cabbage, Blue Hubbard Squash, A Ukrainian mix of 4 colourful tomatoes, Chestnut Chocolate Tomatoes, and two lettuce mixes - Cosmic Crimson and Rocky Top.

ALL of the seeds I ordered from NOT Canada is because I couldn't find them on websites in Canada.

I really hope they all sprout. Fingers crossed.

:-)

I know many commercial growers in Canada that use US companies they don't have any issues with the border crossing, so I doubt you have anything to worry about.

I have only heard of the US irradiating things I don't think it is common practice elsewhere.

Hi Lana

If you are still slooking for any more seeds, there is a fabulous seed farm a couple hours south east of you: abunadhseeds.ca

and another on the BC coast: saltspringseeds.com

Saltspring has a nicer website to order from but I'm sure all Canada Post depots in that region are backlogged after the biblical rains & flooding.

~Northern Girl  ...in Edmonton

US seed companies ship to people in Canada all the time with no problems, me included.

Check out https://seeds.ca/diversity/seed-catalogue-index/. It's a good place to find what Canadian seed companies are selling.  I often find stuff I thought I couldn't get here.

There's also some fun seeds on Etsy. Small island seed co. on Etsy had some interesting things last time I looked.

I’ve bought seeds from https://www.westcoastseeds.com - the first time, I didn’t realise their Canadian. Seamless delivery to the US so shouldn’t be a problem for you in CA. I’ve bought lots of seeds on Etsy from Europe and they all shipped to the US without a hitch. My favourite UK seed company won’t ship here as it’s too much hassle. I guess the Etsy people can take bigger risks if there’s an issue. Good luck with your search.

Hmm . . . Just realised the seeds you want are rather special and not available on West Coast seeds

I too, have purchased from west coast seeds. They are in Vancouver, BC. Also saltspring seeds and ravensong seeds. All three are in BC.

Etsy is good for a lot of seeds I haven't found on those sites. Most of the seeds I've purchased are from Canadian growers. Just that one from Hungary made me wonder about seed viability.

I am going to try ordering a smaller amount of Sepp Holzer's perrenial grain from mystic prairie LLC and see if that is easier to ship. I think I'll phone them so they can look up the shipping while they are talking to me, since their website doesn't calculate shipping properly to Canada.

Jan White wrote:US seed companies ship to people in Canada all the time with no problems, me included.

Check out https://seeds.ca/diversity/seed-catalogue-index/. It's a good place to find what Canadian seed companies are selling.  I often find stuff I thought I couldn't get here.

There's also some fun seeds on Etsy. Small island seed co. on Etsy had some interesting things last time I looked.

Yes I have purchased seed from Small Island Seed Co - very nice items for sale, and interesting.

I know how you feel:
https://eagleridgeseeds.com/collections/peppers/products/dracula-hot-pepper
Eagle ridge seeds will not send seeds to me in USA.
I have no one in Canada who could buy the seeds & resale them to me.
They have seeds I have  not found any where else on the web.

I haven't had any problems with getting seeds across the border.

However, many of those seeds can be found in Canada, I believe. I have bought from the companies mentioned above; and there are many more. Here are a few of them. If you haven't found these yet, you may want to check them out:

https://www.incredibleseeds.ca/    Nova Scotia. Lots of permaculture plants.

https://hopeseed.com/    Nova Scotia.

http://caseysheirloomtomatoes.ca/index.html    Alberta.

https://www.seeds-organic.com/    Montreal. Lots of rare varieties!

www.richters.com    Ontario. Besides the largest selection of herb seeds they have a collection of vegetables.

https://www.cochranefamilyfarm.com/product-category/vegetable-seeds/   Nova Scotia

mapplefarm.com   New Brunswick.

https://www.rainbowseeds.ca/store/c1/Featured_Products.html    New Brunswick.

https://www.annapolisseeds.com/    Nova Scotia

https://revivalseeds.ca/    Nova Scotia

https://yonderhillfarm.ca/    Nova Scotia

Hi Lana,

I live in BC and Baker Creek is one of my favourite seed companies. I've never had any issues with shipping or germination from them.  

However, there are lots of new seed companies popping up in BC and southern Alberta. Looks like lots of people already recommended West Coast Seeds. There is also

- Salt Spring Seeds
- Heritage Harvest Seed
- BC Eco Seed Coop
- Garden Girl Seed

Marvin also mentioned Incredible Seed Co. I've also had excellent germination results for trees and shrubs from this company. They seem to be expanding their seed catalogue every year.

In your bio you mention you are moving to BC soon. I know that at least in the South West corner of BC most communities have a seed swap with local gardeners and garden clubs selling their own seed or have it available as part of a seed library.

I meant to mention https://agrohaitai.com specifically before. They probably have lots of the stuff you got from Baker creek.